Looking at England’s two most successful clubs, it’s fair to say that Manchester United and Liverpool have had a contrasting start to the season.
Ahead of the 2022/23 Premier League season, the two teams were said to be relatively evenly matched over the next few months and, while that may still be the case, the way things have been going of late, the first five games were quite different.
Liverpool have had a brilliant start to the season, taking thirteen points from five games. Furthermore, the summer signings of Dominic Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister immediately improved the team’s fortunes.
At Manchester United it’s a completely different story.
They’ve lost three of five games so far, and while injuries have been a factor, it feels like a team completely devoid of any kind of cohesion or offensive plan.
Gary Neville has made a terrible comparison between Liverpool and Manchester United
When it comes to the problems plaguing the Manchester United team, it is clear that their midfield is one of the biggest concerns.
Casemiro has completely fallen off the form he showed in the first half of the season, with the likes of Christian Eriksen, Scott McTominay, Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount (prior to his injury) all appearing to struggle with their defensive duties.
Offensively, other than Fernandes, that group didn’t offer much going forward.
This is quite a contrast to Liverpool, who excelled in that position despite some major problems last season.
All of this combined makes a pre-season comment from Gary Neville seem pretty ridiculous. Appearing on The Overlap before the start of the campaign, he suggested Jurgen Klopp would be happy to swap his own midfield options for Manchester United’s.
For example, if you look at United’s players, you have Fernandes, Mount, Casemiro and Eriksen.
I think Jurgen Klopp would now swap his midfield for United’s.
In retrospect, these comments certainly don’t look good.
There was some uncertainty about Liverpool’s midfield coming into the season. Although Alexis Mac Allister was a well-known figure, not many players in English football will know Dominic Szboszlai so well.
Luckily for Liverpool fans, he already appears to be one of the signings of the summer.
Jurgen Klopp will also have Ryan Gravenberch in the ranks following his brief cameo last weekend, while Wataru Endo has also strengthened his squad options.
Manchester United’s midfield, on the other hand, is made up of a series of mismatched options that don’t quite fit together.
It’s fair to say that Gary Neville’s claims that Klopp has swapped his midfield for that midfield already seem off the mark.
